Episodes

This is the first episode in a series that will delve into the role that the far north played in the Cold War. This episode deals with Operation Bluejay, the construction of Thule Air Base in Greenland in 1951. From here we'll explore everything that Thule allowed the U.S. Army and Air Force to do in the farthest reaches of the Arctic.

Some interesting Cold War related stories that came across my desk this week. Some scary and some strange, but I hope all will be thought provoking and interesting. We begin with a retro look at some British Cold War civil defense advice, touch on the current state of North Korea, and end with a look under the sea at some radioactive shrimp.

On this anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster, what begins as a film review becomes something more, as we delve into the relationship between Ukraine and Russia and the rise of a new Russian Empire, all the while looking at the fascinating award-winning documentary, The Russian Woodpecker.

In this final episode of the "Otters of Amchitka" series, see how the Alaskan nuclear testing series, the ecological movement, the antinuclear movement, and a general distrust of government agencies led to the birth of the modern environmental movement. Not only that, it brought about a new kind of thinking that hounded government policy until the end of the Cold War.

The first part of a series on the birth of the environmental movement and how it ties in with nuclear testing in Alaska and the conservation of sea otters. As a historian of science, with a focus on environmental science, this story has always fascinated me. Not only does it have implications for environmentalism, but it plants the seeds of serious mass protest that agitate for the end of the Cold War. Otters! Who knew?

This week on Fearmonger Friday, we look at the week's events in the ongoing drama between India and Pakistan and think about where it might lead and how we might get to World War III. If you're interested in current events, you can get some context here.

The third part of a series on the NESC and its secretive assessments of the Soviet ability to destroy the United States. In his first year in office, Kennedy was shaken by the dire predictions of the committee and destroyed the evidence of a highly classified briefing in July 1961.

The second part of a series on one of the most secretive organizations ever spawned by the National Security Council. In this episode, we take a closer look at President Eisenhower and how the reports began to affect his perception of nuclear war and his belief that such a war could be “winnable.”

Part One of a series detailing the story of one of the most secretive organizations ever spawned by the National Security Council. The Net Evaluation Subcommittee (NESC) was tasked with analyzing the ability of the Soviet Union to destroy the United States...and the world. The reports of the NESC were windows on the apocalypse.